Zhou Xuan said, "Why don't we all sit down and analyze this properly? I have a feeling that the case back then was very similar to the method used to destroy my Zhou family."
Upon hearing this, both Li Ming and Li Xuan looked at him with disbelief.
"You're saying..."
"Yes, the great Zhou family of Cangyun. Zhou Xuan. I've come to the capital this time to investigate the culprit from back then, but unfortunately, I haven't found anything yet."
Zhou Xuan had no intention of reminding Li Ming.
If he told Li Ming that his behind-the-scenes master, the Qin family, for whom he fought and served, might be the one who annihilated his clan, Li Ming would surely lose his composure.
What he wanted was for these two factions to eventually fall out, and for him to take control of the Medicine King Hall as well.
"Zhou Xuan, when you say this, are you perhaps trying to create a diversion?"
"I don't quite believe what you're saying."
At this moment, Baili Qingsong also arrived. He stepped forward and said, "To be fair, I can confirm that the Zhou family's situation back then was indeed like this."
"How so?"
"The Zhou family possessed a treasure back then, and they were killed for it. Afterward, hundreds of members of the Zhou family vanished. Only a faint scent of blood remained at the scene. The culprit didn't act directly but used lesser families like the Li and Zhao families of Cangyun to kill by proxy."
"What he said is true. At first, I even mistook my enemy," Zhou Xuan said.
"But I don't believe it! I believe this case cannot be equated to the Li family's situation!" Li Ming finished, then turned to look at Baili Qingsong.
He knew Baili Qingsong was a capable individual, and always very low-key and just. He hoped Baili Qingsong could help him solve the case. Although the Baili family was a small family compared to the Qin family.
"Why don't you believe it? I still believe this is a conspiracy targeting the Li family, a deliberate act of using others to kill," Zhou Xuan said.
"Why do you believe it's a conspiracy targeting the Li family?" Baili Qingsong asked.
"Because the Li family's strength is not weaker than other families," Zhou Xuan said with a cold laugh. "Do you think the culprits wouldn't deal with families who coveted their wealth? If you are truly loyal to your master, why not ask your master, Elder Deng, and the Qin family to help you? The Qin family has extensive connections; finding your enemies back then would be as easy as turning your hand."
Li Ming fell silent, unable to utter a single word of rebuttal.
"From the very beginning, I never considered seeking help from the Qin family. For a mere Xu family, I believe we can contend with them now."
Seeing this, Zhou Xuan quickly said, "In that case, Li Ming, let's not discuss this topic for now. Let's continue discussing the case."
Upon hearing this, Li Ming nodded and sat down again.
"Since the Li family has accepted Baili Qingsong's view, let's discuss another topic, which is the reason for the Li family's annihilation!"
As soon as he said this, everyone turned to look at him.
"I believe that the reason for the murder and robbery was not for a mere ginseng. A thousand-year ginseng is not a rare item in China, a vast and resourceful country. For the Xu family, this medical giant, to kill for such an item from the start does not hold water. There must be something that the Li family possessed, which was discovered by others."
"Perhaps that Su Wan'er is the key."
Li Ming and Li Xuan finally understood that their decade-long journey had led them astray from the very beginning.
"But if it wasn't the Xu family, then who was it back then?"
Zhou Xuan stroked his chin, looked at Xu Ying, and asked, "Was that Su Wan'er really present at the Xu family back then?"
"I wouldn't have remembered if you hadn't mentioned it. I said it was a haunting, and the woman I saw was Su Wan'er!"
"What?"
"She's dead. She died at the entrance of the Xu family. Her body was taken away by the police a few days ago."
Zhou Xuan realized then that the last person who knew anything about this case was also dead.
"This woman is truly strange. People who meet her tend to forget her face easily, but when needed, they can recall fragments based on the cheongsam as a memory anchor."
Upon hearing this, Xu Ying, her parents, and Li Xuan all nodded continuously.
"Su Wan'er used to wear cheongsams. Li Xuan, can you recall if she visited the Li family back then?"
"She did."
"The reason I know it was this woman causing trouble is because the group of arsonists, after setting the fire, were discussing amongst themselves, saying she was vicious, that she came to the Li family and discovered a treasure, prompting the robbery, and so on."
"Did they not mention the Xu family?"
"No, I identified Xu Tian solely based on his face. And my parents likely did the same, which is why they believed the Xu family was responsible."
"Now, there is only one question left. Since it wasn't the Xu family, why did Xu Tian appear at the scene of the fire? And then disappear until now? Where is he?"
Zhou Xuan said all this in one breath.
Li Xuan and Li Ming began to doubt.
"But I don't think there was any ultimate treasure in our house, nor did I ever hear my parents mention it."
Li Xuan had regained her composure, and a hint of her usual innocence reappeared in her words.
Li Ming also shook his head, "I wasn't that young back then, but I never heard my brother, sister-in-law, or any elders in the family mention any ultimate treasures. This..."
"Oh, right, when I was little, I went into our Li family's Ciren Hall..."
"That place seemed a bit strange. After I went in, I always came out from somewhere else. My parents found out once and locked it up. Could the anomaly there have caused the tragedy that befell our family?"
Zhou Xuan pressed, "What was it like? Can you recall in detail?"
"That Ciren Hall is our family's ancestral hall, where many ancestral tablets are enshrined. I often went in to play hide-and-seek with my pet, Bawan.
When I was very young, I often got lost. I'd turn around and come out from another part of the ancestral hall, without knowing how I got there. I was too young back then."
"But I looked at it after I grew up and asked my parents. There is indeed no second door in that ancestral hall."
Zhou Xuan frowned and said, "The Li family possesses another mustard seed space! It's in your ancestral hall!"
This was earth-shattering news!
The words stunned Li Xuan and Li Ming.
The Xu family members and the Baili family were even more dumbfounded.
Their mouths could have fit an egg.
This demonstrated the shocking nature of the news.
"What? Mustard seed space? What is that?"
The uncle and nephew were bewildered.
Zhou Xuan explained to them, "You are not martial cultivators, so you wouldn't understand. In this world, there are things that can traverse the gaps of time and space, reaching a mysterious realm."
"Similar to a storage ring? Isn't that something only found in novels?" Li Xuan asked.
"Indeed. Judging by your description, your ancestral hall houses such a treasure, and its power is even more formidable. You must have triggered it, which is why you got lost and emerged from the ancestral hall without knowing how."
Recalling the murder of Sun Tianyou and the annihilation of the Li family.
Could it be that in this vast world, there were four such mustard seed space artifacts?
Zhou Xuan's heart began to stir.
Li Xuan tilted her head, thinking about it incredulously.
"But I don't think our family members knew about this artifact. Whenever they paid respects to the ancestors, everything seemed normal."
"Perhaps, the condition for triggering it is on you. Let's go, there's no time to lose. Let's return to the old Li family residence!" Zhou Xuan immediately made his decision.
"Now?"
"Yes, quickly! If we're late, it'll be too late, especially since Su Wan'er is already dead!"